585 comments:

Just cause you win doesn't mean your the best team and just cause you loose doesn't mean your the worse.It's hard for all teams to play their very best every single game at u12.It's a tricky age some girls are bigger than others which could mean their stronger and have harder shots and yes that will help them now but once those other girls with skills and knowledge hit their growth spur and catch up it won't mean anything.some of these teams can't even score goals unless they get a free kick but I guess some parents don't care how they win cause they think winning is everything....

I coach some of the players and a team sometimes mentioned herein though not in a negative light. I am also an ODP coach, and have coached at the college level and played the beautiful game my entire life. If I may, I'd like to offer just a few suggestions.

First, sometimes the things spoken up here are way beyond what is acceptable amongst good soccer people. Guessing results or congratulating good play amongst u12 kids is within bounds. Hammering on a coach, cheering on the demise of a team is, I'm sure we can all agree, way beyond boundaries of good folk. How we act on here is sometimes how we act in front of kids and friends. Try to take the high road and be great parents to everyone even when it is hard to do so.

Secondly, ALL the teams mentioned here on this thread should be proud. You've played good soccer and you are in and amongst the best in NJ. But never forget that the landscape is always changing and a top team in 2013 might struggle in 2014. It might be as simple as a keeper, or girls going through puberty, or a coaching change or something more serious. It might be a coach who is tired of the same formation or player positions and, at the cost of losing, is going to drive home more development in forcing kids to learn new positions. And sometimes those teams come back very strongly later.

Ultimately the winning and losing is for egos. Egos of the kids, parents, coaches, fans, etc. And that is not a bad thing, but for kids looking to achieve the next level, its about play quality. High level prospecting coaches are looking for are kids who play the game. When these college coaches you mention have a chance to watch your kid play, they could care less the result. They probably don't know the score themselves, as they are just focused on the kids, who's making plays, who's playing one-touch, who's making proactive runs, who is tracking back hard to get behind the ball defensively. All that matters is who can play the game. As a coach, I would always track prospective players as they walk off at half time or after the game. Sometimes I'd spy on them as they are spoken to by their coach and then how they engage with their teammates after the match. I love kids who are the first on the scene to build back up a goalie who gave up a weak goal. I also want to see how they react post-game and whether they play the blame game or if they are super positive irregardless of the score. I love kids who hug their teammates as they walk off and genuinely love to be out there with their coaches, players and parents. These are the kids we seek at ODP, and at college programs.

Please try to avoid getting hung up on wins and losses. No one enjoys losing, but most important at this young age of 12 years old is they have a great time, they have friends who love them who motivate them to give their best, and coaches who develop their skills and passion for the sport.

These are a few things to consider. Great job to all the teams on some wonderful soccer.

NE ECNL/NPL & NY ECNL/NPL are under the umbrella of all the ECNL clubs and are closed off. Only 1 Top division for each league. (Private Country Club)lol

EDP is a league under the NPL and is ran by MSSL. This league is open and based on a team's competitive history will be placed accordingly by brackets called NPL-1st Divisions, EDP-2nd Division, Maps-3rd Division. I think.

Both leagues will be competitive at U13/U14 it's not until U15/U16 when you will see more of a diversity of competition between both leagues where ECNL clubs will lore the talented players.

Thanks for info. I was doing my research as well and it looks like he will be running crush and taking his 5 teams from the NJ Stallions over to Crush. Crush already have two u12 teams at this age group and the u12 Americans team is also joining crush come u13. Not saying I care but that means they will have 4 u13 teams next year. Looks like they are going into a strong direction

He is a complete nut on the sidelines, the term "joystick coach" comes to mind. Constantly tells his players what to do, never lets them make a decision on their own and berates them for every small mistake. I don't understand coaches who feel the need to constantly talk in a game, if you do your job in training during the week then the need to talk in a game should be minimal surely?

TSF parent here, of course there were players that tried out for other teams (as there were player from other teams that came to our try-out)My sense is that the key players will remain on the team, but of course time will tell.

@1244. What happened? did your player not make the team? why bash a team so obviously? MF has a few teams, and they all have talent including the Montclair team.It bothers me when parents through out daggers that will just hurt other young players.

AS for movement, there will be alot of movement these next two years, and top players will wind up in the hands of PDA, WC and MF ECNL and NE NPL teams, and the other PDA teams.

Did you honestly just say you don't get why coaches speak during the game and if you do your job during training that it hould be enough? Are you clueless??????

Go watch a professionals game you idiot. Go watch college you dummy. If a player who is on a full ride scholarship to Notre Dame gets yelled at throughout the entire game from his or her coach- if a professional player who makes over 200,000 dollars a week gets told what to do throughout the entire game, what is it to say to a youth team or player. This game doesn't have "timeouts" to reorganize a team. Halftime is 3 minutes long which means there is no time what so ever to nail everything down.

The stallions coach does yell but have you actually listened to what he's yelling? Or are you just assuming he's crazy bc the tone of his voice. Have you ever tried to talk across a football field that is 120 yards long and 70 yards wide? With parents screaming most of the time? So its obviously going to sound bad.

Oh and btw- id rather have a coach who NEVER once has sat down during any of my daughters games, showing passion and energy on the sideline ANYDAY rather than a coach who says his two words, never stands up, never coaches, never shows any energy. This is youth soccer, kids feed off energy.

An for your last and final lesson of the day, did you ever think WHY other coaches don't speak during te games they coach. So many coaches aren't confident in what they are doing which means the last thing they are going to do is scream out instructions in front of another coach, their parents, the other parents...etc Most of the coaches who don't talk during game days are the same coaches who don't expect anything but the ball being sent over top all game. No organization, no technical breakdowns are needed to explain as it a crap show the entire time.

Parents, there are a few coaches who bet sit down during their games. Coaches who yell a lot doing games but maybe listen to what their yelling. Wht type of coach would you want coaching your daughter. The shy type, no energy, thinks a 12 yr old girl can learn the game with only 5 words during a 80 minute game of a coach who is always on your daughter, making sure a team is full of energy, organization, structure, making sure they are executing wht they are working are during training and if they are not, the coach is going to be upset about it.

Spend your money where you choose. But honestly, think wisely for those 3,000 clubs out there.

9:58am. Your first sentence is referring to pro teams and colleges, this is an U12 girls forum. They need to learn the game during training with correct coaching. At the ages of 18 and above they understand the game a lot better than a 11-12 year old girl and they are adults. They can take constant coaching and yelling at them. The idea of constant talk from the sidelines being mistaken for passion is very short sighted. If our coach were to constantly tell our players where to pass the ball, where to move, highlight every little mistake then i would leave. And like 8:37am posted, some players have left because they can't deal with it. Granted some can deal with the tough love style of coaching, some can't. Different strokes for different folks but i fear you are tarnishing everyone with the same brush.

And to clarify i said "I don't understand coaches who feel the need to constantly talk in a game". I get why they may have to coach every now and then but to fill every single second with talking is not necessary. That to me is the hallmark of a passionate (no doubt), poor coach whose players need constant direction. A team should not be reliant on their coach, i have no doubt if his team played a game on their own with him not in attendance then they would struggle.

The coach from Stallions may be a great coach, but my daughters team did play against them this spring and i heard him say multiple times out loud "this is embarrassing" The way your playing is embarrassing.that is not positive

I've said various things to the opposing coach during the postgame handshake:

The standard “Good game” … “We got lucky” … “Your team played great.” … Or sometimes just a handshake and no words.

When I ref I usually just say “You’re welcome” when coaches thank me during the postgame ritual.

But at times I’ve wanted to ask these questions:

“Do you even like soccer? … Do you enjoy coaching? … Do you like being around children?”

I want to know because for an hour I’ve watched them prowl the sidelines, screaming, chagrining, huffing and puffing.

They’d probably sincerely answer "yes" to my questions. Perhaps they simply don’t know what they look like out there or they actually believe that’s how a coach should act.

I get that it’s difficult to control one’s emotions around sports, and that we have an innate urge to advise and correct children. But we also know how counterproductive it is to coach in such fashion. If yelling at kids -- when to pass, where to run, when to shoot, when not to dribble -- was the recipe for developing talent, American youth soccer would be producing superstars by the thousands.

And while I think that overall youth coaching has improved significantly over the years, far too many children -- while they're supposed to be enjoying the game and trying to figure out how to master it -- are being interrupted by the screaming, prowling, gesticulating coach.

“Part of that comes from the models of coaching they see live on TV, usually other sports but also soccer,” says Sam Snow, U.S. Youth Soccer Coaching Director. “The camera pans on coaches when they’re animated.”

Says Ian Barker, the NSCAA Director of Coaching Education, “Watch the game so that you can help the players with the game. If you’re very animated, you’re probably not watching the game critically, you’re just joy-sticking. … The coach should open up the folding chair and sit.”

Before his 2010-13 stint as U.S. Soccer’s Youth Technical Director, Claudio Reyna traveled the world to observe the most successful youth programs: “At the best places, the youth coaches are sitting down. And if they get up to give instructions, they sit right back down again.

"When the game is going on, all the coaches should just sit down. I think if you ask any player at the youth level, if the coach is on the sidelines standing, it brings tension. You can sense it."

I agree, a player should be able to take criticizm but there are ways of putting it. You can criticize a player in a positive way but from my experience of us playing his teams it's criticism in the meanest way, it's just berating with no form of coaching and fixing the problem. A kid knows when they make an error, they don't need it highlighted every time and they certainly don't need to be told that it's embarrassing for the coach.

End of the day the ones defending his actions are either parents on his team, or him himself. No outsider can defend such actions in my opinion.

Galaxy players will stay with PDA. No point going to other clubs. Even B team C team at PDA can't beat top teams in state.

What I want to know more about is SJ Barons. They are sinking ship.. Too bad as that team was good. Is everyone else worried about this rush/rage partnership. I mean lets face it, rage just stomped on tsf by 5 goals!!! Imagine when they get the best of rush???? I find it funny- rage cost around 1,800 a year to play on their team. Tsf cost 3,000. If I was a tsf parent I would be lonnggggg gone.

Galaxy players will stay with PDA. No point going to other clubs. Even B team C team at PDA can't beat top teams in state.

What I want to know more about is SJ Barons. They are sinking ship.. Too bad as that team was good. Is everyone else worried about this rush/rage partnership. I mean lets face it, rage just stomped on tsf by 5 goals!!! Imagine when they get the best of rush???? I find it funny- rage cost around 1,800 a year to play on their team. Tsf cost 3,000. If I was a tsf parent I would be lonnggggg gone.

Whoever posted about Claudia reyna comment about NOT coaching during game day.. Is the same reason why PDA coaches don't speak during game day. If you have a team that has all that talent, ability, knowledge, etc you don't need to coach them. Just sit down, grab your pay check and on your way. I like the coaching on the sideline. My daughter is 12. She better be told what to do.

If my daughter fails on her exams, I'm the first to question her teachers. If my daughter continues to either DO the same things or MAKE the same mistakes during her game and as her father I can see what needs to be said, its very upsetting when the "professional coach" doesn't say a word to her. What am I paying you for? I hate coaches who don't coach.. Imagine

11:21am. Who is to say the coach isn't correcting the mistake quietly on a 1 to 1 basis rather than yelling it out in front of everyone for all to see? Your reasoning is precisely why this country has not produced a World Class player as the majority are coached by screamers who fear making mistakes and don't develop creativity.

Which 'Rush' team are you referring to? Heard one player from SJEB 'may' leave the team. They still will be a great team, may even get better without her. You never know what talent is jumping onto different teams right now. Also, Have a feeling all the 'pre-ecnl' teams may not even get to face the highest of talent/competition isolating themselves into their own bracket. Not all ECNL teams are filled with the best of the best. NPL may be where the highest competition is.

A coach pointed out to me that he is not on the field - the girls are. He may say a couple of things during a game strategy-wise but most of the time he is silent. He says the girls are the ones who are playing and they need to learn how to work together, figure things out, get themselves out of jams and be creative on the field. He can show them things during practice and training but ultimately it is up to the team and individual players to do the thumbing and execution. I personally like that approach.

It is highly unlikely there will be any movement to/from Galaxy. PDA recruits from outside, not from within. May 7, 2015 at 4:14 PM

i wonder if crew shorewave nova and others share your hopes for protecting the galaxy roster. there are probably one or two from each of those teams that could easily outplay the bottom 4,5 on galaxy. galaxy has a dozen really nice players. After that, like every othe team, they have a drop off. if they want to become the best, they need to shuffle that second group elswhere to develop and bring in the best 1,2 kids from shore, crew

PDA's other teams allow for their top players (1-2 perhaps) eventually go onto their ECNL rosters and stay playing right now as starters against top teams currently. Doesn't make sense for these top players to go to Galaxy now to not get a starting position.

Halftime. No score in either game. Njx getting the better of ch in first half, but ch made some late pushes. PDA taking it to rage pretty good. Rage has threatened on counter a few times. Rage goalie making some great saves.

10:32, Why would a RAGE parent report the wrong score to a match they just watched? In an overly complicated attempt to veil themselves? All the quarter finalists shared the same sideline. But u know that.

@10:35....they might be struggling a bit now ( one loss all season struggling) but let's see who's who in 2 years. These wonderfully "athletic" girls will have hit their ceiling and will be nowhere to be found. Sorry people. Technical soccer is the way it's heading. Enjoy the wins while you can.

It's so funny that people assume that PDA is the only club that can teach technical skills. The Rage girls look athletic and just as technical as the PDA girls. I'm guessing that in 2 years they will continue to be exactly where they were today, right on top. Excellent soccer played by all today.

I came to watch the Galaxy play as they play my daughter soon.. their defense was not very strong other than a fast smaller girl. The Galaxy was not playing their better players. A tall fast girl on the Galaxy barely played as well as a tall physical center forward.. Renegades kept the best players on full game . Galaxy had better possession, and played better soccer, but the Rage took the win!

You need both - athletics and technical. Based upon what I saw, Rage was both today.

Saw some great athletes with some good skills on the other field too. But perhaps not as many passes strung together. Fields were right next to each other so it was easy to catch them both. Fun morning of competitive games... Saw the U-13 games too. PDA lost both of those games too... (2 PDA teams in Semis at that age bracket )Galaxy fought hard and played well but don't buy into the hype that they are the only PDA team going home.

Clean and hard, as mentioned in prior post 2 penalty kicks, um that doesn't sound like a clean game to me. Bottom line a direct game style beat PDA showing that a talented team like that can be outgunned just by pure hussle.

It's state cup anything can happen, Cherry Hill even made it to the Semi's with the toughest bracket of all 4 teams today. Congrats to all the teams and good luck to both both teams in the final.

It's a shame most of these teams next year seperate in two different league and probably will never see other unless bracketed in a tournament together.

Just because there were two Pks doesn't mean it wasn't a clean game. Just happened to be a foul in the area. Went both ways so it didn't affect the outcome. Both keepers even guessed the right direction but the shots were quality so they scored. I think one of the PDA or rage girls got a yellow card for a late challenge in the defense of third again not a dirty play no intent to injure but the Yellowcard was certainly warranted

8:29 correct. it was a clean game, a great game. i thought there was some tremendous soccer played by both teams, and the kids should hopefully come away motivated and excited to be even better in the year ahead. There are obviously going to be tears and disappointment when you lose a state cup semifinal, but what fricking difference does any of it mean? noone next year will remember who won or lost, and noone outside that field really cares. if the kids gave all they could, put their hearts and bodies on the line, then both teams were successful , just one gets to play another game tomorrow.

great job to both teams. I saw the game, I thought it was a very nice picture of U12 soccer though I agree, different styles of play which was cool to watch. And kudos to the Rage keeper. she was incredible.

People...no need to buy into ECNL hype. If your daughter plays on a top level team in NJ, then stick with it. You may regret it later on if you don't. Remember, your child's top level team can go showcase anywhere in the US against teams that you think they should play against. If you want your child to have a bit higher training/competition, train an extra day a week on the side and put your talent in action on a team that all girls are doing the same thing, and play hard together. ;-) (and, find a team where you can stand most of the parents! There are good OVERALL teams out there) Look around.

Whats wrong with you 5:21? Win with some grace! The girls on NJX/Matchfit and Galaxy did not come out this weekend for ECNL hype but rather played for the simple love of the game. Stop making it about anything more than it is. Congratulations to your daughter and Rage for a great tournament win!

I bet these poor girls on all these soccer teams don't even know all these acronyms. Goodness. Neither do the parents I bet. Let them play soccer against other good teams. Period.NJ Rush/Rage, good job. NJ Rush overall in NJ will really be something to follow. Good job to the people behind the organization of the great Central/South NJ Academy soccer options.

people, lets be respecful. The soccer powers that be watch everything, they watch the games, they watch training and they watch these blogs. They bring good things that warrant greatness, and they can rain hell down on those who run afoul of the beauty of this beautiful game.

talk nicely would be my suggestion. Congrats to Rage on a great game against a great squad today. And congrats to PDA on losing with grace, no excuses just great soccer, slightly outpaced by another great team.

agree with above two posts. Rage and Galaxy are two of the many great teams in NJ. Different strokes for different folks. Both teams I'm sure played great and my child doesn't play for either of these two teams.

If rage loses that forward and golie, they are a very average team. I'm sure Pda has way mor e depth, but no real game changers. They also look weak when subs come in. I'm Sure there are alot of spots available to join Galaxy if and when anyone wants. Rage has some other strong players and if merged with rush, should be a strong team going forward.

9:35.. Actually the Galaxy has one of their best players as substitutions(The really fast one). Take some starters and that good sub and you have the best on the Galaxy. I think their substitutions are solid and make a difference when played. Maybe Galaxy coach puts them in after to make the difference when other teams are already worn out.5:21.. Njx and Galaxy came to play soccer, not to represent the ECNL. As time comes, a lose is what will make your team stronger. 10:49.. Completely agree. The Rage goalkeeper saved her team. She was excellent, and any team would be lucky to have Her. She should be proud of her performance against PDA and Holmdel.....Cherry Hill and Holmdel was an excellent matchup, as were Galaxy and Rage but next year if these teams are to play semifinals again, I would like to see Galaxy and Holmdel play for semis and Renegades and CH.Finals there would be PDA and RAGE and that would be a stunning final. Question for you all: Holmdel and Galaxy play on Friday. Who takes home a win?

What position does the real fast one sub for? I would assume a forward and that's what Galaxy looks to be be missing. I could not tell you who their center forward is, always changing.

Galaxy won't ever play state cup again, it is above them like their older teams. I don't understand, but PDA does what they want. I'm sure the girls and parents would love to still play in state and have fun with good compitition.

There are very few stand out players at our age right now. Will admit rage has two. I'm sure Galaxy has their two or three, I have a tough time picking them out. I haven't seen anyone else that really stands out to me over past two years of seeing everyone play. I do think this age group has a ton of very good talent and probably the strongest age group to come from nj in a while, just all very spread out. And this is a good thing.

Don't know of any players playing up that would dominate this age group. I know there are many girls in this age group that could easily play u13 right now, that age group is very weak in NJ. Are we talking about an August or September baby who is u12 age appropriate, but playing grade appropriate(7th grade)? So they have a lucky birthday and maybe a month younger than others, big deal. Is that really playing up? What happens when they change to calendar year soon?

Playing up is a no brainer if they deserve it. They must compete very well, be a starter and add significant value to the team. They will benefit from being challenged more in games and training with stronger players. If not, not worth it, play age appropriate. If you are on a top team at u14 and older, the younger players will add to their visibility when being scouted by natl teams and colleges, if they are great players. This is very few and far between and who knows what happens as they mature. At 109, who is the player/players or what teams do they play for?

In the better clubs. Players do not play up at this age. If the player is that exceptional they will play age appropriate at this age and going forward. The lower clubs allow players to play up because they are not able to fill rosters.

4:24pm. Wildly inaccurate website link. Top-drawer only ranks ECNL clubs when there are definitely clubs (NEFC for example) who are far superior but aren't ECNL. ECNL is a tough beast to get into because of all the politics associated with trying to be a member club. In NJ PDA holds the monopoly and are on the board of decision makers, so it's very difficult for another club to join. Shame as some are definitely worthy of a look based on the success of their girls teams.

How does it benefit a player to be the strongest player on the team? It is always argued that talented players this or that top club to develop with other strong players. Then the club wants to keep the strongest player on age with weaker players.

How does it benefit a player to be the strongest player on the team? It is always argued that talented players must go to this or that top club to develop with other strong players. Then the club wants to keep the strongest player on age with weaker players. Do you need to be challenged by playiing with stronger players or not?

I'm sorry but at this age with most high level club's in ECNL or NPL having paid coaches. I think the Coach knows if a girl is no capable of playing at a certain levels either NPL, ECNL, playing up, playing down, just being cut completely.

Does the player need to be surrounded by stronger players to develop best or not? If so, should the effort be made to find a place where that is possible? Is it smart to remain leader of the pack or is it better to join a pack where others are the leaders?

Rage has the most talented players or they wouldn't have won the state cup for the past 4 times..they have some very good strong players on that team...their goalie just came on board not long ago and they still won state cups without her. Give credit where credit is due. Rage didnt need a good goalie to win anything..they play as a team and a strong team at that. We all want our girls to be strong talented players and be good role models and Rage has accomplished that so far.

Okay, can't belive I'm backing up Pda, but really? when have they ever talked on this blog? Every other top team has except Pda, I have kids in other age groups and can't stand them because they do talk on the blogs, this age group never has.

Let me see it wasn't to long ago that PDA South was on here and one specific person with very insightful and meaningful comments, wish we had more of him. So you can't say PDA has never comes on here. So there is my response.

"What team are you from? At least joe from Pda south has the balls to sign his name and team, unlike you hiding and putting other kids down. "

It would help if you notated who you are addressing. This isn't that difficult folks, use a little common sense. Then again, I've seen some of you dopes on the sidelines, I shouldnt be at all surprised.

What ever team he is from, they have lost just like every other team in the state. Great competition at this age group and no parent or kids should be concerned. Losing is just as important as winning in life and sports. Good luck to everyone but the basher from above. Bottom line is that Pda N is far down in GS rankings, so no need to pound chest with win against them, just another average team in the state.

I will be there and starting to Become familiar with many players and parents after four years. I'm sure several people putting them down will be there too. Should be fun to see some of you and wonder what you really think?I'm sure the girls from rage, Rush, sJeb won't be there, way to far even if they wanted change. MF and WC are in bad shape at this age group, anyone considering them yet?

Nobody is putting kids down on this blog as I read back. I see more congrats and up-talk about specific teams and rumor mill of players. So for 950 to direct a post of putting kids down than he/she is a little protective or has issues among his own teams current and older.

@955 exactly what was said to put any child down?!?!? The removed post stated that coaches and parents are eating ZXYB for thinking they had elite players. They were advised to take off the blinders. It's not directed at any club or child. What am I missing?!?!?

Yes it was the 910, 929, and the 1first 943 comment that was deleted that started all the pointing of kids being insulted and asking for people to reveal themselves. Thus why his post have been deleted.

Lets talk technology. Does anyone have a concern about their moving to a #5 ball? I for one think the #5 ball is too big, too heavy for U13 girls. Plus, given the focus and raised awareness with concussions, if i had my choosing, I would like to see them stick with a #4 ball for another year. I get it, traditionally the #5 is the real ball and everything else is kiddie sized balls, but the #4 is a good sized ball, properly weights for 11 and 12 year old legs and tendons, and wont scramble their brains as easily if someone gets caught out.

2:30you must be joking or pretty clueless. A size four ball is better for kids at this age in so many ways. Player development, safety, more control. Why do you think there is recommendations by US Soccer for kids to stay on small sided fields for longer? I think they will eventually use a size 4 ball. Experts say it benefits children.

civilized society is not for you.when your daughter gets sidelined for a season, cant attend school functions and is blurry laying in bed, then i'm sure your approach will change. until then enjoy being a complete tool.

Am I really? That statistic above proves how wrong you re and right I am.

Hockey- Football- Lacrosse have more concussions then boys soccer. All those sports where nothing to do is heading a pumped up ball. Its very very very rare of a confusion to happen bc of too many "Head balls". So your stupid statement about changing the size 5 ball to a size 4 is just another excuse.

856 I think your a sad if your thinking people are using it as an excuse and your probably the individual stating people are putting down girls. The information that someone took the time to research was shared and should be appreciative. People are not making excuses by using a size 4 v 5 safety is a concern in all sports. I guess your one those who could care less if your child wears bicycle helmet. Get a clue! It's a discussion not an excuse.

If you read the many articles written about youth soccer and heading the ball children should not head the ball til high school. The only thing shown to decrease the rate of concussion related to heading is neck strength which does not develop til around high school age. Once they reach that age they need to be properly trained on the technique. Brandi Chastain says kids this age should be working on foot skills and their love of the game. Cindy Parlow Cone says until high school the focus should be on coordination ,technical skills and spatial awareness. They should also work on jumping, landing and strengthening the neck. So parents before you get up in arms about the safety of a size five ball when it comes to heading you should do your research or at least talk to your pediatrician. The point is these girls are to young to be heading soccer balls.

u10 you have maps, jags, northern counties, nycsl, etc depending on where you live. At that age, worry about her training, playtime, and happiness, but not in that order. Even if she is on PDA, etc at that age, there is no guarantee she will stay at that level without the right training and being happy.

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